


Preller Ficlets

by captaineifersucht



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Cuties, First Date, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Snarky Comments - Freeform, The Best of Friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-30
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-11 01:12:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2047509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captaineifersucht/pseuds/captaineifersucht
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles and ficlets about our favorite science husbands being angsty and sappy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jimmy and Brian watch a documentary every Wednesday night. But with Beverly gone, their routines are in shambles. Brian doesn't want to pretend they are the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prellernet prompt: Movie Night

The microwave beeped at Brian insistently, but he struggled to pull himself from his mind. It had been a long day. They’d been out the door before dawn, had only managed to leave the lab before six because Jack knew that he and Jimmy were still grieving. Beverly had always made late nights easier.

Will Graham had lingered about the lab, making observations and probably trying to help. He didn’t. Brian was constantly tripping over him or having to move slowly and cautiously around the stoic man on his way to run tests. Yes, he felt bad that Will had been wrongfully incarcerated. He knew that Will felt a sense of guilt over Beverly’s death, was only trying to replace what he had taken from their team. But he couldn’t. Nobody could.

Brian had dwelled on it most of the afternoon, and that was when Jack had pulled Jimmy aside and told them to go home. They were useless at this point. Everyone was exhausted and apparently Brian was wearing his heart on his sleeve again.

It was a recent development. He had always been the hardest to read out of the bunch. Jimmy always used humor to cover up his emotions, but Brian could bury his. Now, his brows furrowed in irritation, mouth twitching downward and nostrils flaring. Anger and sorrow were never far apart.

Jim had ushered him into the car, offering to drive. Brian remembered that it was Wednesday, movie night, and tried to find some solace in the ritual.

Normally, he would come into the lab on Thursday morning and complain to Beverly about the documentary they had sat through the night before. He’d recall the species of animal and maybe who narrated, but that was all. Jimmy would rush in with coffee for them and start reciting newly memorized facts, all bright smiles.

Brian took pleasure in watching his lover become animated with the knowledge. It was even better than his small grin during the documentary itself, the way that he would glance at Brian, making sure that he caught a certain tidbit of information.

Last Wednesday, they were still mourning. It was too soon.

Today, Jimmy went to the refrigerator and pulled out a six pack, tossing Brian two packets of popcorn to heat up. Brian watched him disappear into the living room, heard the TV turn on.

He didn’t think that he could watch something tonight. There would be no one for Jimmy to share his knowledge with tomorrow—if Will Graham was in the lab again, Brian might lose it.

All he really wanted was to mindlessly listen to something, to have noise in the background and harsh movements on the screen as he curled into the heat that Jimmy would provide for him. He wanted to be smothered in warmth and comfort, to be shielded from the reality that they had to keep facing every damn day upon returning to work.

Brian was steeling himself to say just that, to ask if maybe they could watch some stupid comedy or an action film that didn’t require any brain power. He finally opened the microwave when he heard Jimmy call his name from the other room, a questioning tone.

After pouring the second bag of popcorn into the large, green plastic bowl, Brian walked into the living room carefully, mouth open so that he could force the words from his throat.

Jimmy smiled softly up at him when Brian closed his mouth numbly. The title screen for The Grey faded from the TV and he settled in beside his lover, his best friend. Jimmy pulled the cream throw around their shoulders, rubbing down Brian’s side.

“ Know-it-all,” Brian huffed, shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

“ I love you too, dear.”


	2. First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hannibal big bang mini prompt: "touch"

Jimmy was a physical person. He demonstrated wildly with his hands during explanations, and often touched different parts of the bodies that laid upon the slab when scribbling notes about them into a report.

When they all went out for drinks, his thumb would run up and down the neck of a bottle, and the other hand would grasp the edge of the worn bartop. He clapped his friends on the back after a joke, squeezed their shoulders when telling a particularly emotional anecdote. He was always the first to come and embrace someone going through a particularly rough time.

So on their first (official) date, Brian wasn’t surprised that Jimmy had held his hand. They had decided to go to a French bistro that had recently opened up downtown. The tables were small, and their position to one another was intimate in the low light.

It was the brush of a foot against his ankle that first brought Brian’s attention to Jimmy’s stare. He had been attempting to decide between the escargot or a polenta, but Jimmy was eager for them to stop glaring at the cardstock and actually enjoy their time together.

“ Hey,” Brian said dumbly, smiling. He’d get the beef polenta, it was supposed to be good. The toe of Jim’s shoe nudged against his ankle again.

They had waited forever to finally do this. Jimmy’s touches in the labs had moved from fondling pens and running his fingertips along disinfected surfaces to brushing the small of Brian’s back. To rubbing Brian’s cold hands at even colder crime scenes. To scratching Brian’s scalp when he had his head down onto the desk, exhausted. Until finally Beverly had enough and insisted that they needed to get over themselves and go on a fucking date.

Fine, Brian had said during his one on one talk with Bev. Jimmy’s smile when he asked if they’d go out to dinner together was worth it.

And here they were, in an upscale restaurant, and Jimmy was being shy about touching him again. It was cute, the way that he was dancing around it. Brian set his menu down and placed his hand halfway across the table, within Jim’s reach.

The reaction was instantaneous, like magnets. Their fingers intertwined and Brian gave a gentle squeeze as Jimmy’s thumb brushed the dip in his palm.

“ Hey,” Jimmy offered back with his cheeks dimpled in a grin. His foot was still on Brian’s ankle, their hands firmly grasped together.

Jimmy was a physical friend, a touchy person, and Brian was eager to have this constant contact become a routine part of his life.


	3. Road Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal Lecter left a sea of blood and despair as he fled the country. After spending weeks in the hospital worrying over the victims, Brian and Jimmy are terrified of losing one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prellernet prompt: Road trip

“ We need this.”

Jimmy was talking to himself more than Brian, reassuring himself that this was the right decision to make. He sat curled up in the passenger seat, thermos of coffee tightly gripped between white knuckled fingers. Brian glanced at his face, the skin drawn and pulled tight. Jimmy had lost weight since they’d received the news, pounds that melted from his frame in worry induced fasts. He looked older, and that was why they were getting away. Brian had to get them away from here.

“ We deserve it,” he agreed, thinking of nights spent rotating between three hospital rooms for weeks. When they should have been supporting one another, as they had after Beverly was murdered, they had spent all their energy to try and somehow will their coworkers awake.

When Alana finally emerged from her coma, Brian pulled Jimmy into the brightly lit hallway, shoved him into one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs. He begged Jimmy to let them get away for awhile. They were wasting away, and there was nothing that they could do at this point. They could call Alana every day, but they needed to get out of the hospital, out of Baltimore.

Brian had kneeled on the cold, hard linoleum, Jimmy’s hands grasped in his own. His lover’s bright eyes had turned dull and sorrowful with tragedy. “ I can’t lose you, too.”

Jimmy had nodded tersely. They packed and left the next morning.

With no preordained destination, Brian hopped on I-95 North and drove. He put on cruise control, and they watched trees and housing complexes, fields and bodies of water pass by in silence. There was no room for notes and melody in between them now. They had to be there for one another. It would be easier, removed from the situation.

Despite it being mid morning, they slowed near Newark, soon brought to a standstill by construction. Brian figured they could stop in New York City for lunch, maybe do some sightseeing and stay the night. There wouldn’t be any heartwarming pictures to remember the trip by—the ones that Jimmy always insisted on taking—but they would have the moments shared between them. Appreciating the city, the buzz of bodies, evidence of life.

Brian was waiting for facts to fall from Jimmy’s mouth, some knowledge about infrastructure spending or effects on the ecosystem. The mindless banter that had become so familiar between them had faded, leaving empty air between their bodies. He reached over, guided the thermos into the cup holder and took one of Jimmy’s hands into his own. Their eyes met briefly and Brian gave a smile.

“ It’s gonna be okay, Jim. We’re gonna be okay, everyone is.” The doctors had assured them of that much. Abigail had passed, her ashes waiting to be spread. But Jack would wake. Alana, though paralyzed to an unknown extent, would survive. And Will Graham would live another day, to find Hannibal Lecter. They would be okay.

Jimmy nodded, his fingers intertwining between Brian’s. He kept his head down, the nodding turning into a gentle rocking of his frame as tears slipped from his eyes, a sob quaking his chest.

The highway was practically a parking lot, so Brian shifted out of drive and unbuckled his seatbelt. He leaned over, tilting Jimmy’s head up and kissing him hard, taking his face between his own hands, grounding the older man in this moment. “ We’re going to be okay,” he reiterated after pulling away, running his fingers through short, graying hair.

“ Yeah,” Jimmy agreed. His tears slowed, shoulders ceased to shake, and he slumped back into the seat. Brian buckled himself back in and pulled out of park just as another car began to honk at him. He whispered something that Brian couldn’t hear.

“ What, Jim?”

“ I am so afraid of losing you, too. We couldn’t save Bev, and everyone else was left to die. He’s fled, but I am so afraid that he’ll come back. We’re the only ones left. I can’t let him have you too. You’re all I have left.”

It was more than Jimmy had spoken in two weeks. The sentiment wasn’t unfamiliar to Brian. He often felt the same, especially when alone at night in their bed while the other was at the hospital.

This was the progress that he wanted. This was the comfort that they needed—talking to each other. Communicating. If he knew Jimmy, it would soon turn into playful comments. There was still an hour left until they got into the city.

“ I love you so much, Jim,” Brian said to the highway ahead of them, the smile finding its way back to his lips. “ You’re all I need.”

“ Love you too, Bri.”

Jimmy put his forehead on Brian’s shoulder, and reached to turn the stereo on. Maybe tomorrow they would drive to Boston.


	4. Stargazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian whisks Jimmy off to go camping so that he can show the older man the wonders of astronomy. As usual, he ends up being amazed by Jimmy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prellernet prompt: Stargazing

Brian rolled onto his stomach atop the quilt, eyebrows rising as he heard a soft snore pass through Jim’s lips. They were supposed to stay up until all the stars had appeared in the sky, and then Brian was finally going to offer up his expertise. Jimmy had spent enough time pointing out the various insects that had gathered around their lantern, extrapolating on their mating habits.

“ Wake up, Jim.”

The older man turned away from Brian’s touch to his chest, whining. “ You made me get up at dawn to fish. I’m _exhausted_ , Bri. Let me sleep,” he groaned, drawing out the vowels childishly.

Sitting up, Brian watched as Jimmy grasped the corner of the quilt into his fist and pulled his knees up to his chest in an attempt to curl up. It was admittedly cold out in the forest they’d decided to go camping in. On the barren hillside where Brian had picked to watch the night unfold in a way that they could never see in the city, the wind was unrelenting.

Brian was also unrelenting. He covered Jimmy’s body with his own, planting firm kisses on the exposed skin of his neck, dipping his tongue beneath the wool of his sweater. “ Up,” he insisted, wedging his hands under Jimmy’s torso and pulling them both to an upright position. “ Look, Jim.”

The expanse of the sky was a deep, royal blue. It was dotted with stars, clumped together in certain places and arranged in complex constellations. Beyond the dark hills, the city lit up the bottom half of the heavens. Artificial greens swirled into aqua, fading darker until it met what they had traveled to see.

Light, millions and millions of miles away, speckling the beauty of the universe above them. Thousands of cultures that speculated about the creatures they could trace between the heavenly bodies, myths spun from the characters they discovered. It had been so long since Brian had been far enough from the city to see it’s entirety.

When he glanced back at Jimmy, the man’s eyes were wide with wonder. Brian knew that the older man didn’t adore spending days in the great outdoors, despite his fascination with what nature had to offer. It was different when there were no bathrooms, warm water, and spiders were free to crawl over you during sleep. Jimmy had admitted that it had been some time since he’d gotten away from civilization. “ It’s beautiful.”

Brian couldn’t stop staring at Jimmy, and he thought that even if he didn’t get to whisper all the knowledge he’d obtained during his teenage years into his lover’s ear tonight, that would be okay. Jimmy looked truly happy, and it showed. Away from the lab, they were free to be with each other. In this place, there was nothing but the two of them. The rest of the universe, stars included, didn’t really matter.

Brian smiled, leaning in to nuzzle the older man’s hair and whisper against his scalp. When he spoke, there was no indication that he was truly referring to the night sky.

“ Yeah, it is.”


	5. One More Weekend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jimmy reminisces on the woes of being gay, and in love with your best friend, in high school and Brian makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Prellernet](prellernet.tumblr.com) prompt: High School AU

It was the last week for seniors. Jimmy was excited--he was going to leave the small town in Maryland and go to Harvard. He’d been offered a full ride, at that, for declaring his major in the biological sciences. His parents had been delighted, proud of him for once. 

Of course, it was Reggie that got all the attention in his letter jacket. He was confidently sat in the senior’s hallway, celebrating with their peers while Jimmy worried about AP tests and finishing strong to maintain his valedictorian status. The only thing he let distract him, the small joy he’d allowed himself, was making sure that he got to spend as much time left with his best friends; Brian and Beverly.

With Beverly, it was easy. They were both in the running for valedictorian, would likely both end up with the title, so they often spent afternoons at the other’s houses drinking too much coffee, writing reports, and baking when they got tired of staring at chemistry problems or biology lab books. Beverly was going to Harvard as well. 

But Brian, well, Brian had been Jimmy’s best friend since middle school when they’d been at the same table in physical sciences. They’d tease Will Graham and make the best diaromas together. The teachers loved to hate the pair.

He and Brian had gotten closer and closer until Jimmy’s parents had asked him why he didn’t go on dates with girls, like Reggie did. Why, exactly, was Brian staying the night three days in a row? Jimmy knew that Brian’s parents loved him very much, but his family was very large. Sometimes, it was just easier with the two of them.

Easy turned to nightmarish when during their freshman year, Jimmy had confessed to Alana, a mutual friend, that maybe his feelings for Brian were beyond brotherly. Alana had told Brian and they hadn’t spoken for months. Jimmy tried everything, but he met Beverly. He latched to her like a life-line, and Beverly was happy to cheer him up with cheesy jokes and trips to the mall.

Brian apologized the summer before their sophomore year. They fell back into their usual banter, and then Brian kissed him. They went to homecoming together. Jimmy received death threats in his locker and Brian never confessed to the nature of their new relationship to his parents. 

They snuck kisses in corners and even did some heavy petting in the back of Jimmy’s car junior year. After prom, Brian had given him a blow job. Jimmy didn’t think he could be happier.

The summer wore on and senior year started. Everyone applied to colleges and scrambled together essays. Jimmy spent a lot of time with his head in Brian’s lap, scribbling calculus solutions together. 

When he’d gotten his acceptance to Harvard, Jimmy was thrilled. He was going to do what he wanted to, succeed away from the suburbs. 

Brian broke up with him a week later. 

Jimmy had been left cold, standing in the park as Brian walked away from him. It started to snow. 

He had cried for weeks. To Beverly, to his mom, to his dog, but mostly into his pillow. The winter break passed without any communication with Brian. Jimmy pulled himself together. It was just like his mom said--there were plenty of fish in the sea. He was moving away to college, after all. 

When the new semester had started, Jimmy was hesitant to fall back into their normal routine. He, Beverly, and Brian had four periods together. They sat next to each other. And he could barely think about his ex-boyfriend’s voice without losing his own.

Brian acted as if nothing had ever happened, as if the two years they had spent shyly holding hands and writing love notes in the classes they didn’t have together just hadn’t existed. 

Jimmy went with it.

And now, five months later, he was still heartbroken, still choked up when he saw the box of things Brian had given to him on his bookshelf. But they were graduating, and he was more devastated about losing his best friend.

Brian hadn’t been accepted to Harvard. He was going to be left behind. Jimmy knew that’s why their relationship had ended, that Brian felt second-best, that Brian didn’t want to acknowledge his feelings for another when making a decision about the rest of his life; that he didn’t want Jimmy to stay for him.

So, with his stupid, aching heart, Jimmy Price sat up at two in the morning, trying desperately to put together a mix CD for this stupid, selfish boy that had broken his heart to begin with. Because he wanted Brian to have something to remind him, if he ever wanted it again, Jimmy would always cherish the moments they’d had together.

Because Jimmy would wait for Brian. There were other fish in the sea, but there weren’t always rare, beautiful specimens with scales that complimented your own, with clever adaptations and the warmest eyes to gaze into. 

\---

Brian looked to where Jimmy was walking away from the small gathering of friends and family. He hadn’t stayed long, maybe fifteen minutes. When they hugged, Brian could feel how restrained Jimmy was. It tugged at his heartstrings, making him feel sick with guilt. 

He was staying in town, going to community college for the first two years. Maybe he’d transfer somewhere better. Jimmy had always deserved more than he could offer.

There were other guests that he had to talk to, relatives that wanted to know what being graduated felt like, coworkers of his parents to catch up with, people to thank for gifts. With each conversation, Brian felt his brain slowly shutting off. It was the same process that he’d used for the past semester, ignoring his feelings for his best friend and hoping that eventually Jimmy would find someone suitable. 

It wasn’t until late that night that he found a small, handmade envelope in a pile of cards. He smiled at the familiarity. There was a playlist, handwritten, along one column and a title splayed across the other.There was a single bee drawn near the bottom--the subject of the first project they’d done together. It held a CD.

Glancing through the song titles, Brian felt his chest tighten. Why was he always so fucking stupid?

He swiped his dad’s car keys, and bounded out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The Mix CD can be listened to here](http://8tracks.com/lemonscientist/preller-high-school-au)


	6. Four Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the Highschool AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Prellernet](prellernet.tumblr.com) prompt: Angst

“ Happy birthday, Bri,” Jimmy whispered to the cold air. He watched his words turn into white clouds, and then fade. The tangible realization of the sentence did little to sooth Jimmy, when no one was here to hear or acknowledge him.

Jimmy dropped down to sit on his ass near the tombstone, feeling his lower lip begin to tremble. Maybe he should’ve accepted Beverly’s offer to come along.

Brian would’ve been 21 today, so Jimmy had brought him a six pack. It was the same, disgusting Bud Light that they used to sneak from their parents stocks during sleepovers. What they had gotten drunk on after junior prom. He set it on the cold ground, next to the flowers that must’ve been left by Brian’s family earlier in the day, before the sun had set.

But Jimmy remembered how much Brian loved the stars, so he had brought a heavy quilt out with him. He laid on his back, blinking tears from his eyes. “ I still love you.”

Jimmy was going to graduate at the end of the following semester. He had an internship lined up after his diploma was handed over.

But with graduation came the reminder, the anniversary, of Brian’s death. It would be four years since Jimmy drove home, threw himself on the bed and started to cry because he was too much of a coward to admit his feelings. Four years since a semi had t-boned into the driver’s side of Brian’s dad’s pick up truck. Four long, awful fucking years since the police handed Jimmy back the mix CD that they’d found in the player.

Jimmy had listened to it until the CD skipped during every song, had cried so much that the last song could only wring dry, painful sobs from his body. He had locked himself in his room for the majority of the summer, and then left the town for college.

He and Beverly had inevitably gotten closer, afraid of losing one another, weary of making new friends. They had mourned for the majority of the first semester, reluctantly returning home for the holidays. Together, they visited the Zellers during Christmas.

Together, they had somehow made it through four of Brian’s birthdays.

Alone, Jimmy had found it in himself to move on. Despite what he’d thought at seventeen, he couldn’t wait forever for Brian. Not when he was dead.

There was an engagement ring on his left hand, and Jimmy told Brian’s tombstone about his fiance, Greg. He thought that Brian would definitely approve— after all, Jimmy was happy.


	7. Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Prellernet](prellernet.tumblr.com) prompt: Brian and/or Jimmy cooking

Brian rolled over, the warmth of sleep having escaped his body. He sought out Jimmy beside him, arm outstretched to ensnare the older man’s waist and drag him close. When his hand found only cooling bedsheets, Brian lifted his head from where it was buried in a pillow. He groggily glanced about, thinking maybe Jimmy had gone to the bathroom. It still felt early, but the clock read 8:17AM in a bright neon glow.

Saturdays, they usually slept in. Brian inevitably stayed in bed longer than Jimmy, until the other would come in and rouse him with gentle kisses and encouraging rubs. It was unusual for Brian to get up without any prodding, but he found himself rolling clumsily out of bed and making his way to the kitchen on weak legs. When he entered, he found the source of his wakefulness.

Breakfast.

Not their usual cups of coffee and bowls of cereal, but a skillet of pancakes and bacon, syrup heated up in the microwave and Jimmy had even French pressed the good coffee beans that they’d received for Christmas last year. Brian inhaled deeply, stepping towards his lover and blinking the last of sleep away. Jimmy was in dark green flannel pants and a grey t-shirt, the fabric soft and tight enough so Brian could feel every twitch of muscle as he wrapped the other up in his arms.

“ Morning,” Brian murmured into his ear, nipping the shell and resting his chin on Jimmy’s shoulder.

Jimmy made a contented noise and Brian watched as he stuck his tongue out a bit when flipping the pancakes. He noticed chocolate chips in some and his smile grew wider. “ You know, I really love you, Jim.”

When Jimmy shrugged him off, Brian poured them each a cup of coffee, stirring a teaspoon into his lover’s mug and bringing them to the table. Jimmy followed quickly with plates stacked high with pancakes and bacon. He gave a happy sigh, the same one that he made every time he completed a task to his satisfaction. Brian caught him before they sat down and kissed him deeply, fingers digging into his side. They parted and Jimmy smirked.

“ You’re an easy man to please,” he was saying as Brian doused his pancakes in syrup and began to cut them. “ Love you too, Bri.”


	8. Hobbies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's board game night, and Jimmy promised he'd come this time around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Prellernet](prellernet.tumblr.com) Prompt: Hobbies.

" I know I promised, but it's been such a long day, Bri. The gastric contents on our second case were just awful. Did you know, males are less likely to chew their food than females? Anyway, this guys sample looked edible." Jimmy looked up from his journal just in time to see Brian wrinkle his nose. " I haven't eaten since breakfast."

Brian came about the couch and sat down next to Jimmy. The older man leaned against Brian's shoulder and flipped the page. He truly was exhausted. 

Jimmy glanced up at Brian once more to see his lover fighting not to frown. He wasn't succeeding. 

" All right, Jim. Did you, um, want to eat at all? Probably should, or at least drink an Ensure if you're not gonna eat." Brian was moving to get up, but Jimmy reached out to grip his knee. 

He'd agreed to let Brian rope him into board game night two weeks ago. Some of the guys from toxicology and one of the female interns, along with Brian, got together once a month to play games, drink beers, and eat way too much snack food.

Despite his lack of energy, Jimmy didn't want to rob Brian of his fun. He knew how happy the other man was after game night, how revived he was. Brian just wanted to share that with Jimmy. And maybe that was what he needed--an evening of fun and relaxation, not an early bedtime.

" You know, I'm actually feeling a bit better." Brian opened his mouth to interrupt, but Jimmy plowed on. " Do you want to bring the six pack we have in the fridge, or head to the store? I think we have a bag of pretzels..." Jimmy moved from his place on the couch and went to the pantry. There was a small bag of pretzel rods in the back corner. They could stop at the store, get some dip and probably more beer. Brian never came home before midnight during these parties.

Jimmy stopped backing the canvas bag with their provisions when he felt arms around his waist. Brian’s chin dipped onto his shoulder and Jimmy tried to relax into his grip. “ You don’t have to come,” Brian reiterated. “ I know you’re not feeling well.”

“ I want to come.” Jimmy turned in the other man’s arms and guided his head down for a kiss. When they parted, he smiled at Brian’s concerned face. “ It’ll be fun.”

\---

Brian drove them to Phil’s--the pathology doctor on the third floor--house. Jimmy hadn’t once seen Phil outside the lab in their decade of working together. He tried not to look to shocked at the normally quiet man in cargo shorts, a concert t-shirt, and sporting a large grin on his face as he ushered them inside. 

They had stopped at the supermarket to pick up some dip and a vegetable tray after agreeing that neither of them should have too much alcohol, but had ended up buying another six pack of hard cider. Brian had argued that it was on sale. Jimmy was a sucker for alcohol that wasn’t plain beer.

Phil’s kitchen was brightly lit, and Kathryn, the intern, was already opening up a box and settling up a game. Brian put their alcohol and dip in the fridge while Phil headed back out to the sound of the doorbell. Jimmy didn’t know what to do, even among his coworkers, so he just stood there.

Brian pressed a hand into the small of his back, guiding him to a chair. “ I think Jon just got here. Want a drink?” 

Jimmy nodded his assent and smiled at Kathryn when she asked if this was his first time playing. “ This is only my second time, the boys are awful secretive. You ought to convince Beverly to come, I feel like there’s too much testosterone in here.” 

“ Well, if I’m coming again, I’ll drag her in with me,” he assured the intern, whose eyes shone brightly as she placed small plastic pieces on the kitchen table. She moved to shuffling some cardboard pieces and arranging them when Brian returned with a beer for himself and an apple ale for Jimmy just as Phil and Jon were coming through the foyer. 

There was about ten more minutes of shuffling seats, getting bags of chips open and plates passed out for dip, the pop and hiss of beer bottles being opened before everyone had settled. Jimmy looked, one eyebrow raised, at the hexagonal arrangement of different colored board sections. It was a large island, surrounded by water, each hexagon a different color and with a different number set atop it. Brian was whispering the directions in his ear--apparently this was the easiest game they played together.

“--so whenever you roll a six, everyone with a settlement touching a piece of land with a six on it gets one of those resources. You can trade your resources with others in order to build more roads or boats. Or just trade into the bank with a 4:1 ratio. If you get a harbor space, you can trade 2:1. Whoever has the longest consecutive road gets an extra card for two victory points, and we play until ten. Same with knights, whoever has the most gets two victory points. You can buy development cards too, and if you roll a seven--”

Jimmy’s eyes were wide. He placed a hand on Brian’s thigh, squeezed gently and smiled when the quick instructions ceased. “ I’ll figure it out as we go along, okay? Phil, you don’t mind if I learn as we play this round, right?” He turned his question to their host, who had sat down with a glass of brandy.

“ Not at all, Jim. You’ll catch on quick anyways.”

Brian looked up sheepishly, a blush faint under his cheeks. He took a swig of beer, maybe to stop himself from spewing out more information. Jimmy leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He didn’t miss the muffled, excited noise that came from Kathryn’s general direction.

So they played this game, Settlement of something or the other. Jimmy did catch on quickly, excitedly collecting as many sheep cards as he could and building a complex road system. Phil ended up winning out of nowhere, after hoarding three victory point cards, which Jimmy didn’t even know had existed. He didn’t see the point in trading his resources for the cards, when he could build houses and roads. 

The next round, he wisened up. It lasted about half an hour longer than the first one, with the longest road card shifting precariously from Kathryn to Jimmy with nearly every turn. When she eventually won, Jimmy pouted until Brian brought him another beer and a small plate of pigs in a blanket. 

“ You know, it’s not fair that you’re good at everything,” Brian chided as the others got up to stretch their legs and take bathroom breaks. Jimmy glanced at the clock and saw that it was just past ten. He was feeling better already, mind far from cases and the worries of work. He was beginning to understand why this was so important to Brian.

Jimmy learned to play three different games that night. He didn’t completely understand Shadowrun, but Munchkin made for a lot of fun, especially with all the different expansion packs. He had somehow managed to drink his entire six pack, while Brian had stopped at two. They had moved to the living room floor after sometime, where Kathryn laid on her stomach and Jon sprawled back against the foot of the couch. Jimmy leaned on Brian, his eyes close to falling shut after every turn. 

At one in the morning, Phil began to usher them out, insisting that they would get together again in three weeks, but it wasn’t his turn to host. At this, Jimmy brightened. It was rare that Brian felt comfortable enough to ask everyone to play at their house.

“ Our house,” he insisted just as Brian was dragging him out the door. “ Locard’s all grown up, and we have a _huge_ couch.” 

Everyone laughed, which Jimmy didn’t quite understand at this point, but he felt giddy and relaxed as Brian drove them home.

\---

It was a short drive, and Brian suggested that they should shower after Jimmy had fed their nervous dog. It was rare that both of them were gone after coming home from work. Jimmy didn’t take much convincing, allowing Brian to help him strip when his fingers had fumbled on the buttons of his shirt for the fourth time.

“ Did you have fun?” Brian asked over the sound of the shower head. He was guiding Jimmy under the spray, despite his protests.

“ I’m not that old, I can do it myself--” Jimmy slipped a bit on the tub, but Brian steadied him. He decided not to move again and allowed the warm water to wash away some of his drunken confusion, Brian’s hands to massage along his scalp with shampoo, his back with body wash, to wrap around his front in a warm embrace. Jimmy didn’t know how long they’d been under the water, but the temperature was starting to drop. The fog in his mind had begun to clear, unexplainable euphoria replaced by a deep seated satisfaction. Playing board games wasn’t a waste of time, it was a healthy escape. He wished that Brian had convinced him to join in their antics long ago. 

He turned in Brian’s arms, the water washing away soap from his back as he leaned up for a kiss. “ I always have fun with you. Thank you for making me go, Bri.”

Brian looked relieved, convinced by the genuinely grateful expression on Jimmy’s face. It was apparent that he was worried that he’d made the wrong decision. “ I love you,” he whispered, ducking down for another kiss. Jimmy returned it eagerly--after all, he was never able to deny Brian anything.

**Author's Note:**

> [||tumblr||](lemonscientist.tumblr.com)


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